I recently read an article in the September 2009 Landscape Architecture Magazine ‘Haag’s Edible Estate’.  For those of you who don’t know, Rich Haag founded the Landscape Architecture program at the University of Washington and has designed some very notable places including Gasworks Park here in Seattle and the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island.  This article looks at the landscape of his private residence in Capitol Hill, which is an active experiment and example of what he has coined ‘nutrimental horticulture’.  The term is a mouthful but the ideas behind it caught my attention immediately.

Balancing the utility of a food producing garden with a landscape that is also beautiful and welcoming is something that drives many of my designs, including my own gardens.  Gardens are about discovery and activating our many senses.  Showy flowers and an intoxicating smell are great but think of discovering your first ripe strawberry; this evokes a special reaction.  Why can’t all landscapes have this multi-sensorial experience? They can.

One plant that is very easy to utilize in a landscape are blueberries. They are tolerant of a wide range of soil and light conditions (err on the side of shady and moist) and beyond the berries, the leaves have great fall color, changing to a bright red as the plant goes dormant.

If you are looking to create an informal screen, try red raspberries.  They grow into 5-6′ canes which spread through rhizomes over time.  Raspberries can be perfect for obscuring a utility shed or a tall cedar fence.  Many varieties of raspberry will produce fruit multiple times throughout the summer.

Does your garden need a bulletproof ground cover?   Similar to the aforementioned strawberry plant (which is a must) creeping bramble (Rubus pentalobus) sprawls low to the ground and produces bright orange, raspberry-like fruit.

A great way to bring structure to the garden is a trellis.  Trellises allow plants, especially vines, to grow vertically and often with a dramatic result.  They can support garden variety vegetables like climbing beans and peas that can be grown throughout the year.  As an alternative try grape vines or better yet, hops.  This summer I grew hops (Cascade variety) for the first time. They quickly grew to about ten feet tall with pendulous clusters of yellow green hops, a surprisingly good turnout for the first year.  Hop plants grow from rhizomes that mature and increase in size over time producing more and more hops.

Lastly, an edible plant that makes both an architectural statement and is very sought after for its culinary uses, the artichoke.  This plant may not be for everyone but it is dramatic as a focal plant. Mature plants can grow to be 6-7′ feet tall with bold serrated fronds and large thistle flowers (the artichoke).  Tall and conspicuous, I see it as the Palm Tree of the garden.  Unlike the Palm, however, the artichoke is perennial and will die back in the fall to emerge in spring.

I will readily admit that I have had mixed results with some of these plants (especially the artichoke). To me the experiment is a part of the experience.  Try new things alongside successes of the past.  It is a great way to discover what works in your garden landscape.

Zach

At Lifestyle Landscapes we often use ornamental grasses in our designs.  They are dynamic, bringing movement as well as color and texture to a garden, and, even those that die back in the winter add drama all year long.  Grasses generally grow fast, require little maintenance and, once established, do not need a lot of water.  Often we are asked how to maintain grasses.  Since this week fall has definitely arrived, I though it an apt time to discuss ornamental grass maintenance.

What we term ornamental grasses, those plants with long leaves, are actually several categories of plants; sedges, true grasses, and reeds or rushes.

“Sedges have Edges…” The stems of sedges are often triangular and have edges or corners.  The stems are generally solid and their seed heads are not particularly showy.  The Carexs are sedges, and, true to type, do not need trimming.  In the spring and/or fall, simply don gloves and comb through the clumps, extracting the dead leaves.

“and Rushes are round..”: Rushes belong to the family Juncaceae, their stems are typically cylindrical like true grasses, but solid, and they lack nodes.  Not too much to do to rushes except cut out the dead stalks.

“Grasses are hollow and rush all around.” True grasses are from the family Poaceae and have narrow leaves.  They have long veins running parallel to the edge of the leaves.  Their stems are hollow except at the nodes or joints.  They may form clumps or spread by runners.  These can be cut in the fall, or leave the seed heads standing till the end of winter.  Again, don gloves as for the edges may be sharp.  I always wait for a sunny day in February, and then look for the new green shoots, deep in the clumps, as the first harbingers of spring.

Baxter

Drive by 5407 37th Avenue SW in West Seattle and you will find a garden designed for whimsy and fantasy.  Created over twenty years ago by Milton Walker, a Boeing mechanic, its towers, walls, and paths are Seattle‘s version of the Watts Towers (in the Watts neighbor in California).  This unique garden is constructed using rocks Milton transported from Eastern Washington in the trunk of his car, and embellished with gem stones and minerals.  The result is a colorful delight.

Unfortunately, Milton and his wife have died.  Their family continues to maintain the garden and has opened it for public tours.  Visitors are welcome to tour the garden on specific Sunday’s and holidays.  From the first of June through Labor Day the garden is open Sunday’s (except for the first Sunday of each month) from noon until 5PM.  The gardens are also open on Mother’s Day from noon until 5PM.  The Walker family will allow people who would like to visit the garden outside of these scheduled times by appointment.  For appointment requests call the Walker Rock Garden by calling 206.935.3036.

Attracting birds into your landscape can be easy if you know a little about what they like and their habits. Plants are a key part in many birds’ lives because they provide both materials and structure for shelter, and provide food with not only a multitude of fruits, nuts and seeds but also a source for insect eating birds.

Birds are highly visual and are attracted by brightly colored flowers; this is especially true of hummingbirds, so choose plants with red or orange (tubular) flowers to get them interested. The eating habits of birds vary widely. Small non-migratory birds eat almost constantly during daylight hours where as migratory birds need large amounts of food for a day or two.

Different plants have different resources to offer. Deciduous plants bear the most fruit, nuts and seeds. Evergreen plants and trees provide berries and seed-filled cones and can act as year-round shelters and nesting sites.

Here are some locally available plants that provide resources for birds in Seattle gardens:

Trees

Acer circinatum / Vine Maple – Provide seeds eaten by many birds

Crataegus douglasii / Black Hawthorne – Grows in a thicket, provides great shelter, berries eaten
by birds, robins, woodpeckers and ducks

Sorbus varieties / Mountain Ash – Provides shelter and berries in summer and fall

Shrubs

Cornus stolonifera / Red-Twig Dogwood – Provides nesting site, berries eaten by warblers, robins
and flycatchers

Ribes alpinum / Red Flowering Currant – Berries eaten by jays, sparrows, and woodpeckers,
nectar and color attractive to hummingbirds

Symphoricarpos albus / Snowberry – Berries persist into the winter, eaten regularly by quail and
grouse, emergency food for many others

Sambucus varieties / Red and Blue Elderberry – Red variety ripen in early summer, blue variety
ripen in fall, nectar for hummingbirds, bees and butterflies

Lonicera fragrantissima / Honeysuckle – Prolific flowers provide nectar for hummingbirds

Fuchsia varieties – Spring and summer food source for hummingbirds

Perennials

Aquilegia formosa / Red Columbine – Favorite native for hummingbirds, sparrows and finches
like seeds, very adaptable plant and showy flowers

Dicentra formosa / Western Bleeding Heart – Early spring source of nectar for hummingbirds

Crocosmia varieties / Montbretia – Summer food source for hummingbirds

Outside my kitchen window grows a Mock Orange (Philadelphus virvinalis) the scent from which has been wafting in for weeks. I know that as a designer I always incorporate scents into a garden, trying to provide a surprise for each season and pleasure for the owner. But this shrub I did not plant. It was there when we moved into the house, in a side yard to which I seldom go, and it grows happily in benign neglect, right up to the eaves. But the serendipitous pleasure it brings our family each year has prompted me to think again about other plants that provide beauty appreciated by senses other than sight. So to start, here are some great smelling additions for the seattle garden.

Winter: Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Arnold Promise’, Sarcacocca hookerana humilis, S. ruscifolia

Spring: Choisya ternate, Daphne odora, Wisteria floribunda, Clematis armandii

Summer: Lonicera japonica, Jasminum polyanthum, Philadelphus coronarius

Fall: Cercidiphyllum japonica – the leaves smell of cinnamon and apple, Itea iliciflora

And don’t forget the herbs, especially the old standards: the mints, parsley, rosemary, and the thymes.

Baxter